Food from Heaven

Study your heart in the light of the Holy Scriptures, and you will know therein who you were, who you are, and who you ought to be. - St. Fulgence of Ruspe

I find this to be very true. Scripture is such a key to living the Christian life. It boggles my mind to think that I have spent significant portions of my life trying to live as a Christian, but not taking it seriously enough to immerse myself in God's word.

I've become so used to certain phrases in Christianity that I frequently gloss over the real meaning of them. Take the phrase, "God loves you." How many times have we heard this one? How many times have we actually taken the time to think about what that really means? The One who created all things, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-holy, and all-loving knows who I am, and loves me. Love is not just a feeling of affection. God doesn't just have warm fuzzies for me. Warm fuzzies are so over-rated anyway. Love means that he acts upon his concern for me. He takes the best course of action - the perfect course of action - for my benefit at all times. This has so many implications. One could spend hours thinking about all the implications of God's love. To mention a few, God has mercy on me when I miss the mark. God delights in me. God enjoys my company when I spend time with Him. God delights in the work I do. God never turns away from me. God never takes out his frustrations on me. God cares for me and provides for me. He holds me in existence by keeping me in his thoughts at all times.

What about God's word? How many times have I taken this for granted. It is God speaking to us...to me! Why would I even consider trying to live a Christian life without taking time every day to see what God has to say to me? Why would I ever choose to tune out at church while God's word is being read to me? Why would I ever choose to tune out at church while God's word is being reflected upon during the homily? Didn't Jesus tell us that we don't live on bread alone, but also on the word of God? Why would I starve myself of God's word? Yet, for large portions of my life, I have chosen to do this.

It is no wonder, then, that for large portions of my life, my faith has been weak and powerless. It is no wonder then, that I don't see the hand of God more in the world. It is no wonder then, that it has been difficult to discern what to do with my life.

Over the past ten years I have grown more devoted to regular Scripture reading in my life and it has changed my life. When I am regularly in God's word, I have strength to live for Him. When I regularly read God's word, I grow in love for Him. When I read the Bible often, I find the temptations of the devil and of this world, much less interesting.

If a man were to stop eating food for a few days, he would be weak and tired. If he were to go months without eating he would most likely die. If the Word of God is bread for the soul, then of course we get tired and weak by refusing to be fed by it. It frightens me to think about trying to go long periods of time without taking the time to be fed by God's word.

"Blessed are those...who seek him with their whole heart..." - Psalm 119:3

I want to be blessed in this way. I want to seek God with my whole heart. I want everything in my life to be about seeking God. I want my work, my play, my rest, my relationships, my money, my time, my strength to be opportunities to seek God. One of the best ways to seek God with one's whole heart, is to spend time with God each day in prayer and in the Scriptures.

Please, if you are trying to seek God; if you want God to reveal Himself to you more fully; if you want to love God more; if you want to overcome the obstacles in life, do the following:

1. Ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life.
2. Ask God to reveal Himself to you more.
3. Spend time each day telling God about your day, your life, the good things, and the difficult things.
4. Spend time each day reading God's word in the Bible and think about it, pray about it, and talk about it with others.